


From behind the veil

by Ischa



Series: Meeting the serpent on even ground [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Ghosts, Harry Potter Next Generation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-06
Updated: 2011-07-06
Packaged: 2017-10-21 02:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/220051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ischa/pseuds/Ischa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Scorpius falls trough the veil and meets Sirius.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From behind the veil

  
**Title:** From behind the veil  
 **Pairing:** Albus/Scorpius  
 **Rating:** PG-13  
 **Summary:** In which Scorpius falls trough the veil and meets Sirius.  
 **Warning(s):** none  
 **Author Notes:** This is just an interlude. Is set in the 'Meeting the serpent on even ground' -series, takes place somewhere during ‘The master-plan’. Also, written from Scorpius’ POV. Oh, yeah! It’s a ghost story.  
 **Word Count:** 3.449  
 **Beta:** **Disclaimer:** Don’t know, don’t own, not real

\--+--  
~1~  
His dad always told him stories about the war. He guesses that every parent did. Sometimes when he was in a very good mood he even told tales about Hermione Granger and the Weasley twins, of which just one survived the war. Scorpius can’t remember which one. He never told stories about Harry Potter and though Scorpius knew from his friends, and his mom, that his dad knew Harry Potter, maybe better than a lot of other people.  
When he grew older sometimes he got an offhanded comment like: ‘All Potters have no humour’ or ‘Potters were all reckless’ or ‘Don’t turn out like Potter did’.  
Scorpius knows that his dad was not disappointed that he got sorted into Slytherin. Maybe he was relieved. Scorpius suspects that his dad was really relieved, like a curse was lifted from his family, because maybe now Scorpius could do things differently. Even if he never said it out loud. Scorpius never thought of his family as cursed.  
It was clearly just him.

~+~  
“I don’t want your son anywhere near mine!” Draco said in an icy tone.

“Well, it’s not Albus’ fault!” came the heated answer.

“Just tell your brat to stay the…hell away.” His dad said. There was silence for a moment and then:

“Draco…”

“Malfoy.” His dad said and then there was more silence. Scorpius waited outside the library for more, but there were no more words spoken, so he just knocked on the already open door. His dad turned around with a soft smile.  
“You heard everything, hmmm?”

“Yeah.”

“You know it’s better for you; it’s better for him.” His dad had said and Scorpius nodded. He knew that. He also knew it was too late anyway. For him at least. He didn’t know about Potter. “Scorpius…”

“It’s too late and you know it,” Scorpius had said and his dad had nodded. Of course he knew. It was never a question and Scorpius never felt like he had to hide what he was feeling from his parents.

“Maybe not for Potter’s son,” his dad said.

“Maybe…” Scorpius had answered and then his dad had turned to pour them some Fire Whisky.

~2~  
His dad always said – when he talked about Potter at all – that it was a bad idea to be close to a Potter when he was determined to do something. It always ended in disaster. Scorpius is beginning to think that he might have been right.

“We could just take a look….” Sam says. Albus looks doubtful for about two seconds and then he grins and Scorpius knows he’s doomed.

“We will do no such thing!” he tries and Sam looks at him.

“You can stay here.” Sam says, and what the hell does he mean by that? That Scorpius is a coward? Because he is not!

“No way am I leaving you here to walk around dangerous artefacts in the fucking Ministry of Magic!” Scorpius says sharply.

Sam grins. “Great!” he says and grabs Scorpius’ hand. And since when is Sam allowed to manhandle a Malfoy? Maybe he was back in the days when Blaise Zabini was coming over and bringing Sam with him…but they were kids back then and Scorpius will never forgive Sam for thinking he was a fucking girl when they first met.  
Because seriously!

“Come on, I just wan to see the brains!” Sam says excitedly and Scorpius rolls his eyes.

“And the veil.” Albus says and Scorpius stops.

“The veil?”

“Yeah…”

“The one Sirius fell into?” Scorpius asks, because he has to know. They need to be _clear_ on that one.

“You know about Sirius?”

“He was family.” Scorpius answers.

“Not what he thought.” Albus says and Scorpius wants to hit him. Stupid Potter. What the hell is he even doing here with Sam and Potter anyway? True, the school trip Professor Mikosch organised is really boring, but is hanging out with Sam and Potter really the better idea?

“Well, my dad says he was family. So of course he told me about Sirius and the veil.”

“Oh…okay.”

“And you want to see that? The place where he was killed.”

“Murdered.” Albus says hard. It sounds like a challenge. As if he would dare Scorpius to deny it. Scorpius isn’t impressed. He never was with Albus. He never was with anyone.

“Murdered. Right, by his own cousin. I know that.” He says. “And you want to see that?”

“I want to see the veil…Luna swears she heard voices.” Albus says.

“Voices?”

“Yeah, voices, from behind the veil. My dad said it too.”

“Potter, no one knows what it is. Or what’s behind it or if you can come back from behind the veil at all.”

“He won’t do anything stupid,” Sam says and Scorpius gives Sam a pointed look. “He won’t. I swear. My dad told me about the veil too, okay? I know.”

“Okay.”

“You know what?” Albus asks suspicious.

“That it’s fucking dangerous to be near that thing,” Sam says with a grin.

“But we will do it anyway.” Albus closes and grins right back.

Scorpius tries to think of a reason why the hell he got separated from their classmates, just so he could do stupid things with Sam and Potter of all people. Clearly his dad was right to tell him he should stay away from Potter, but he also knew it was too late for him. He suspects that it’s too late for Potter as well.  
“Merlin! Just let’s get it done with.” He says with a sigh.

~+~  
He would never admit it out loud but the veil creeps him out. And it’s not because he knows that Sirius died here or that his grandfather was here to kill Harry Potter, Albus’ father. No, it’s just the veil. That shimmering thing. He doesn’t know if it looked like that back then, because that was over twenty years ago. Maybe it changes, he never came around to ask his father if he ever saw it. He knows Lucius did. But he never spoke to Lucius. Not even to his portrait.

“Do you hear anything?” Sam asks and Albus shakes his head no.

“Maybe just…lunatics can hear voices from behind the veil?” Sam asks. Albus grins.

“So why aren’t you hearing anything?”

“Good question.” Sam says and Scorpius sighs again.

What the hell is he doing here? If professor Mikosch finds out that they got separated…that they fucking separated themselves from the group to roam the Ministry of Magic by themselves…they might get expelled. Scorpius isn’t too keen on getting expelled in his last year. Not at all.  
He sits down on the steps a few feet away from the veil and half listens to Sam and Albus bicker like an old married couple. He doesn’t entertain thoughts of him and Albus bickering because they never bicker. It’s more like fighting for…control maybe, he doesn’t know. Also, it would be futile to entertain thoughts of him and Albus, as it can never be. He is dangerous and tied to Tina, and Albus, Albus…is a Potter. Of all people. He knew he was cursed from his birth – his dad told him when he was four – but this seems a bit too much. It’s really kind of grotesque.  
Then something catches his attention. The first whisper is more like a caress. A light shiver and then it’s gone. Scorpius is very close to ignoring it altogether, but his dad says it’s not good to ignore what is going on around you. And his dad is right more often than not.  
There are words with the second whisper, but he can’t understand them. He turns around and looks at the veil. Its shimmering and floating surface.  
He gets up as he hears the third whisper and it sounds like his dad’s name. Scorpius circles the arch the veil seems attached to and then just stops on the other side. It looks pretty much the same from here, expect that the veil shimmers kind of red in places. Like spilled ink or blood circling in water.  
The whispered words urge him to come closer, to touch and he really wants to. It’s so pretty and inviting, so he does.  
The last thing he sees is Albus’ shocked face.

~3~  
The ground feels solid, but really soft, like walking on air or clouds.

“It’s a bit like flying,” a deep amused voice says behind him. Scorpius turns around to face whoever that is.

“You’re dead.” Scorpius says, taking a step back.

“I’m Sirius,” he answers laughing. As far as Scorpius is concerned, that joke was really lame.

“I know that!” he says a bit annoyed.

“So…Draco…what brings you here?”

“I’m not Draco.” Scorpius says and it feels strange to say his father’s first name. He doesn’t use it at all.

“Don’t think I’m stupid. Now that your father has failed to grab the prophecy, he sent you?”

“I’m not Draco Malfoy! And no one sent me to do anything…”

“I never believed you lot! And I’m not starting now.”

“What Slytherins or Malfoys?” Scorpius challenges.

“What’s the difference?”

“You are so full of yourself!” Scorpius spits and begins to understand why his father didn’t like Sirius at all.

“I’m on the right side here!”

“You lured me into the veil!”

“Yes,” Sirius says and he looks smug. That bastard.

“What for?”

“So you can’t do any more harm than you already did.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Scorpius says and feels his magic uncoiling and crawling inside him. It happens when he feels really stressed. He gasps. It hurts. His hands are clinched into fists, so he can control the pain a bit better, it doesn’t help much.

“The mark? I didn’t think it could reach you here?”

“It’s not the Dark Mark!” Scorpius grits out. Merlin, this is all Potter’s fault.

“Draco…”

“I’m not Draco Malfoy!” He spits, because he is not his father, even if there is nothing wrong with him. His dad never wanted him to be like he is. He learned his lessons.

“Don’t lie to me boy!”

“And I’m not a boy! I am Scorpius Regulus Malfoy and not my father!” He says and looks Sirius straight in his eyes. Sirius takes a step back. Scorpius doesn’t know how he looks in these rare moments when his magic takes over, when it begins to eat his insides because it has no place to go.

“You’re not Draco?”

“No!” he spits out and falls to his knees. It hurts and he thinks he is about to die, but he thinks that every time. It got better after they linked him to Tina when he was seven. Because he was too young before. It’s a miracle he survived that long without her. He doesn’t know what price his parents paid the first seven years. He is afraid to ask. And he isn’t sure his dad would tell him anyway.

“So, Regulus?”

“Well…Sirius was out of question, my father couldn’t stand you. Still can’t,” Scorpius says, sitting down on the strangely soft ground. Sirius laughs out loud, it sounds strange too. Everything is strange here.

“I’m behind the veil and you are dead…and…am I dead too?”

“Does it feel like you’re dead?”

“I hope not,” Scorpius answers. He is still in pain and he doesn’t know how long it will last. Maybe this time will be the last, as he is away from Tina. This might not even be his world or dimension.

“What’s wrong with you?” Sirius asks, looking curious. Scorpius can’t see much sympathy.

“I’m ill.”

“Obviously.”

“My magic is eating me up.”

“I guess it has to do with the Dark Mark?” He sounds smug again, as if it was Scorpius’ fault.

“I don’t deserve this!” he spits, breathing heavily.

“I didn’t say that!”

“Well, you’re thinking it, because I’m a Malfoy.”

“And a Slytherin!”

“Yeah, blah, blah, blah…all Slytherins are dark wizards and of course Malfoys are too. Fuck you, Sirius! I’m even friends with Hufflepuffs.” He leans on something and closes his eyes. He wants out of here. He doesn’t know how he will manage this, but he’s sure Sam and Albus are working on it right now.

“Little liar.” Sirius says. Scorpius waves his hand in dismissal. He is tired of this and he feels really sick.

“Think what you like. I don’t care. You are dead anyway. Why should I care what a dead man thinks of me? Someone who doesn’t even know me?”

“Because I’m family.”

“You never thought that, did you?” Scorpius asks.

“No,” Sirius answers, sitting down next to Scorpius. “It’s eating you?”

“Yeah…one day there will be nothing left of my body and maybe the magic will be free and destroy everything in its way. I don’t know. No one knows. I’m, just trying to get by. Day by day.” Scorpius says, suppressing a scream.

“No one will hear you here.” Sirius says and Scorpius takes his word for it. He can’t keep it in any longer anyway.

~+~  
When he wakes up, having passed out from the pain, Sirius’ chilly body is pressed against his and Sirius is singing something. Scorpius doesn’t know it and doesn’t care. He needs to find a way out of the veil.

“I don’t belong here.”

“You think I do?” Sirius asks.

“I don’t know. You are dead after all.” Scorpius says and leans into Sirius. Right now he is the only human being – or whatever – that is here with him. He hopes that Sam will find a way to get him out or that Albus does the right thing and calls his dad.

“You really don’t belong here,” Sirius says and Scorpius nods before he passes out again.

~+~  
“So, I was thinking…” Sirius says and Scorpius looks up at him.

“Dad says that never was one of your strong points.”

“Your father was a git…and his father was one too.”

“Maybe, never met the man.” Scorpius admits. Sirius keeps silent on that matter.

“So, as I was saying: I was thinking, maybe your magic can help you to get out.”

“I’m not sure I want to hear that.” Scorpius says tired.

“Well. I always was brilliant. So, listen…”

“I’m sure I don’t want to hear that. Also, I’m sure Potter is going crazy coming up with a plan to get me out of here.”

“Wait? What?”

“Potter…the younger one. Harry Potter’s son.”

“You’re friends with Harry’s son?”

“You can say that.” Scorpius says and Sirius laughs again.

“You are totally in love with him!” he says, sounding delighted. _That bastard_ , Scorpius thinks.

“What does it matter? I’m going to die here.”

“You are not! Now listen, your magic has no outlet right now, right?”

“We did establish that a while ago…” Scorpius says.

“Shut up kid!”

“Hey!” Scorpius protests weakly. The only bright side here is that when he dies and his body explodes in a million little pieces, no one will be harmed. The veil seems to absorb everything that doesn’t have a solid body.

“You can just let it out.”

“Are you mad?”

“You don’t know how?”

“Of course not! It would bleed me dry, for Merlin’s sake! Who would come up with something as insane as that?”

“Well…”

“Don’t answer that,” he says and then screams again. “I think it gives.”

“What?”

“My body, genius.”

“I’m not letting you die.”

“Yeah?” And he knows he sounds sceptical and too much like his dad when he deals with people who think he’s scum. He supposes he can’t help it, it’s in his blood after all.

“Yeah,” Sirius says and then he kisses him and it is nothing like a kiss should be. Sirius’ body is cold and Scorpius feels like he is being drained. Like someone is stealing his life, his magic and he knows that Sirius is doing exactly that.  
As he comes up for air, Sirius is grinning at him.  
“You should go now,” he says.

“Where?”

“Outside,” he answers.

“How?”

“I’m going to burn a hole into the veil. It will not last long, if it even works at all.” Sirius says.

“You will die!”

“I’m dead already,” Sirius says, winking at him. “On the count of three.”

“One,” Scorpius starts.

“Three!” Sirius says and then there is heat and light and the veil gives for a second or two and he is pushed out onto the hard ministry floor.

~4~  
“Scorpius!” Sam’s voice sounds vaguely panicked.

“I’m alive…for Merlin’s sake,” he answers slowly.

“What the hell happened?” Albus asks.

“Obviously he fell asleep and banged his head on one of the stairs to the arch.” Sam says.

Scorpius looks at him. “How long was I out?” he asks. He isn’t sure they know he was in the veil, even if they saw him fall.

“Professor Mikosch will kill us,” Albus says with a worried look at Scorpius.

“Potter! For Merlin’s sake, we are wizards! Use your wand!” Scorpius says and tries to get up. Just now he realises that his head is lying in Sam’s lap. What the hell?

“I’m no good at any healing spells!”

“Merlin! You’re such a moron. I can’t do it myself without a mirror.”

“I’m sure there is a toilette somewhere…it’s the fucking Ministry of Magic. There must be one washroom somewhere.” Sam says reasonably.

“Right, help me up. Is it bad?”

“Well…there is blood everywhere?”

“I’m sure none of you is good at cleaning spells either?” Scorpius asks. They shake their heads. Why did he even ask?

~+~  
“You think you can mange?” Albus asks.

“Potter, I just banged my head…” Scorpius says and tells him to stay outside. He needs his privacy. Sam shakes his head but lets go of Scorpius arm.  
The mirror tells him that he really looks terrible; there is blood everywhere. _Must have hit my head pretty hard_ , he thinks. He lets the water run into the sink and just stares for a few minutes into the mirror before he washes his face and then heals the wound on his head. A cleaning spell later he looks fresh as snow.  
He is pretty sure he was behind the veil and talked to Sirius, but it seems that neither Potter nor Sam can remember anything out of the ordinary. Odd.  
He doesn’t feel different. Maybe he should, maybe he shouldn’t. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know if anyone ever came back from behind the veil. But he is pretty sure his father will ground him for life as soon as he hears the story. He sighs. Maybe everything will turn out okay in the end. Maybe.

“Scorpius?” Sam asks through the door.

“I’m still alive.” He answers.

“Just checking. We need to meet with the group in twenty minutes at the statue.”

“Yeah, I’m coming.” He says sighing, looks a last time into the mirror, and then pushes the door open.

~5~  
“Your son endangered mine!” His dad screams.

“Draco…”

“Don’t Draco me, Blaise! You know about him, and your son takes him into the Department of Mysteries to see the fucking veil!”

Scorpius closes the door to the library softly and waits outside for his father to stop yelling at Blaise Zabini and call him in to start yelling at him. Well, he should have known that his dad would find out.  
It turns out that Tina felt him disappear and she fainted. His dad just knew something was wrong, so he flew to the ministry and well…it was stony silence and then yelling from there. There wasn’t much yelling at Scorpius, but that will come, he is sure. And now he is at home again, even if he should be at school with the other kids. Halloween is on a weekend so his dad figured it would be okay to take him home.

“Scorpius!”

He sighs and opens the door. “Yeah?”

“What happened?”

“I fell through the veil.” He answers and sees his father go pale as a sheet.

“The veil. The one Sirius fell through?” His dad asks, just to make sure he understands his son correctly.

“Yes, that one.”

“What happened?” His father asks and pours himself Fire Whisky. So Scorpius sits down on one of the green chairs and starts talking. “So you saw Sirius?”

“Yes, he was…a dick.”

Draco smiles a soft private smile. “So, death didn’t change him, hmmm?”

“Seems so.”

“What were you thinking?”

“I…”

“You could’ve died!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Right. Who knows about this?”

“No one, I don’t know how, but neither Sam nor Potter can remember seeing me fall.”

“That’s good.”

 _You think_ , Scorpius thinks, but just nods.

“I’m sorry…” he says after a while.

“I know…” His dad says and pours some whisky for his son as well.

~end~


End file.
